Modi Govt @ 4: How the Dread of Deadlines Revamped Sarkaari Offices

Deadlines becoming sacrosanct, files getting cleared faster and exponentially increasing work pressure are some of the bold changes that senior bureaucrats across ministries noticed after four years of Modi government.

Employees are pictured through a window as they work (Representational photo: Reuters)

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New Delhi: ‘Which destination would be best for a sojourn?’ A question which corporate employees begin to ponder during summer’s sweltering heat, now dominates conversations of senior IAS officers. Thanks to Modi government, the bureaucrats are longing for a holiday.

Deadlines becoming sacrosanct, files getting cleared faster and exponentially increasing work pressure are some of the bold changes that senior bureaucrats across ministries noticed after four years of Modi government. This, in-turn, has increased the stress level among senior IAS officers, making them yearn for a vacation to reboot from the burgeoning pressure.

“Under PM Modi, there is tremendous work pressure. The typical sarkaari offices have changed in definition, at least at the ministerial level. The pressure is so much that I am planning a trip to Mauritius,” a top bureaucrat laughingly said.

Other officials News18 spoke to informally revealed their plans to visit Sri Lanka and other tourist spots in order to take a break from the routine.

Senior officers in the Niti Aayog recall an incident where a deadline made them stay in office for more than 48 hours.

“This is unprecedented in my decade-long civil service career. We had to file a not-so-important report two days later and most of the work was pending because people were on leave, including me. We all stayed for more than two days in office because there were strict instructions over the mail that the report should not be delayed. Things were not so strict before. This is almost private corporate culture,” said an official from Niti Aayog on condition of anonymity.

In a first, the government has also introduced secretary level panels for better implementation of policies. Multiple secretaries shared that most of the policies find execution once the panel green flags it.

Junior officials send ideas to the PM through MyGov app, an online portal which led to some hesitation among senior officers during initiation. However, they also claimed that now they are witnessing positive results of it.

“There have been cases when junior officers have pitched ideas through the portal and have been taken up for discussions at top level offices,” said an official requesting anonymity.

According to multiple officers across ministries, IAS officers are no more the ‘go-to’ option when it comes to deployment.

When it came to the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner -- monopolised by retired IAS officers -- the government opted for K V Chowdary, a former income tax chief.

While the bureaucracy at large claims that they are satisfied with the current government, 129 officers have also been terminated from jobs in 2017.